The American /l/

Mastering the American Accent » The American /l/

The American /l/

For the American /l/ sound, the tip of the tongue touches the gum ridge behind the upper teeth, just the same as when creating the /t/ and /d/ sounds. See the image below for correct tongue placement. The air stream flows through the sides of the tongue. When the /l/ occurs at the end of a word, make sure you don’t release it quickly as you would do with a /t/ or /d/. This will make your /l/ sound foreign. The American /l/ is softer and longer than the /l/ sound of many other languages.

Warning: Common Mistake

Don’t round your lips when you are saying the /l/ sound. This will weaken it and make it sound more like a /w/.

Words for Practice

although
call
children
cold
difficult
felt
film
little
milk
myself
people
will

Word Pairs for Practice

tall girl
felt guilty
old school
tall wall
cold milk
gold medal
little children
twelve soldiers

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